Rajiks began sweeping and mopping the spacious house like a fish in water.
With the determination not to allow a single speck of dust.
The top-floor penthouse of the apartment even had a small garden that utilized the rooftop.
Before long, he had also gone out to the garden, snipped away at branches with gardening scissors taken from his backpack, and arranged everything neatly.
Gyeon Dallae watched the sight with a soft smile.
"It seems one's status has risen, and so the treatment improves."
"...I'm sorry, what? Status rising?"
"Because he has become a servant of the great master's house. It must be every servant's dream. This girl is happy for him as well."
Oh, that's what she meant.
Well, compared to an officetel, a penthouse really was the great master's house.
He himself had once desperately wanted to become a servant of a big corporation... no, of the great master's house.
"And here I thought you meant his grade had risen. From S to SS+."
"One cannot judge servants by such trivial grades. Just look at Kosak and Gobang, who are SS."
He turned to look.
Gobang was in the kitchen.
Seemingly fascinated by the faucet that produced water on its own when he brought his hand close, he kept putting his hand in and pulling it out.
Kosak lay sprawled diagonally on a wide, luxurious sofa, his arm propped behind his head.
He yawned prodigiously as he flipped through TV channels from 0 to 999 with the remote, then made eye contact with Joo-hyuk.
"No company dinner today?"
"Oh dear..., tsk tsk tsk. Behold, Young Master. What use is SS if this is the result? He doesn't even know a servant's fundamental duty."
Kosak had adapted to the new home remarkably quickly.
"Of course we're having the company dinner."
"Hehehehe, as expected of Summoner Bong. Shall we order delivery?"
"Hey, you can't order delivery on a day like this. Room service, obviously."
He had already thought it all through.
The concierge service exclusive to luxury apartments.
The basic maintenance fee alone was 3 million won a month.
Places like this had their own restaurant system, providing breakfast service in the morning.
Room service naturally came with that.
"From now on, company dinners will be room service. Non-negotiable."
"Yahoohoo! Summoner Bong is the best!"
Joo-hyuk opened the service guidebook placed on the living room table.
When he looked at the room service menu.
He was speechless.
He had no choice. 'What kind of menu is this...' The prices were astronomical.
An organic vegetable salad for 30,000 won a plate, pasta for 60,000 won a plate, tenderloin steak for 150,000 won a plate.
Even boiled eggs at 15,000 won each. 'What kind of eggs did a phoenix lay, exactly?'
Gobang alone would eat 300 eggs.
He could easily polish off 100 plates of steak, too.
"What seems to be the problem?"
"N-Nothing in particular catches my eye. The food doesn't even look appetizing."
Thud!
Joo-hyuk closed the service guidebook.
"Awww, then we can't order? Eating is really important, you know. They even say the Black Tower comes after a meal."
"For once, Master Kosak is correct. A well-fed servant works well, as they say."
"I'll eat anything. Something cheap with big portions."
Joo-hyuk nodded as well.
"Let's order delivery. That'll taste much better."
"Yes, sir!"
In any case, this house had everything one could need.
He could move in right away.
The apartment's price was roughly 15 billion won.
Including acquisition tax and a year's maintenance fees.
When he asked why it was so cheap.
It turned out the price was based on the official assessed value, not the actual market price.
The official assessed value is set by the state, so it apparently had to be sold as is.
He knew it was just an excuse, but well, he could let that much slide.
At any rate, there was no need to drag things out.
He'd cancel the officetel lease tomorrow.
He also diligently began skinning the Basilisk hide.
He didn't know how much the hide would sell for, but he needed to secure stock so he could hand it over immediately whenever it was required.
Then, starting the day after the move.
Joo-hyuk and his summoned beings carried out repeated runs on Floor 45.
***HG Fashion's Go Yeonha visited the Awakening Management Bureau.
It had been three days since he received the proposal to supply Basilisk hide.
"Excuse me. Deputy Director."
"Welcome, CEO Go Yeonha."
After exchanging greetings,
"How is it? Have you reached a conclusion on evaluating the hide's value?"
For the evaluation, Go Yeonha had taken hide samples and photos of the Basilisk three days prior.
However—
"I'll be honest with you. We couldn't find an answer either."
"Hmm, so it's difficult to assess the value."
"But we do have a proposal to make, and I need to explain something first..."
"Yes, go ahead."
What kind of proposal?
"Take crocodile leather, for example. It typically takes hides from about three animals to make a single high-end bag."
"For just one bag?"
"Yes. When you process crocodile leather, you cut away all the parts that can't be used for products. There are differences in quality, and above all, the pattern and markings are crucial."
"Ah! I see what you mean."
"Of course, a Basilisk is many times larger than a crocodile, and its entire body is covered in vivid patterns and markings, so far less would be cut away."
Naturally.
How could a crocodile even compare to a Basilisk?
"We plan to create products from this hide in three lines."
"Three lines..."
"An accessible mid-to-low-price line, a high-quality line that requires a major decision before opening one's wallet, and a high-end luxury line that not just anyone can buy."
"The quality of the hide would differ for each, I take it."
"Yes. The high-end luxury line will incorporate Rainbow Basilisk hide."
Go Yeonha picked up the teacup placed before him, moistened his throat, and continued.
"So here's what we came up with: rather than us purchasing the material outright, how about we split the final product sales revenue at a fair ratio?"
"Ah!"
It was a good idea.
The hide's value was impossible to calculate anyway.
Splitting the final profits might actually be the easiest and most reasonable approach.
Go Yeonha had briefed Jeon Gwang-il on his proposal.
Accept what should be accepted, revise what should be revised.
And the conclusion they reached.
First, create a new corporation and brand.
The brand name: Deulkkot & Bascili—Wildflower & Bascili.
From the total revenue of Wildflower & Bascili products, they would deduct the costs of hide processing, the costs of making products from the hide, labor, distribution, equipment, marketing... all of it.
And the production cost accounting would be audited by the Management Bureau.
What remained was the net profit after taxes.
"The Management Bureau will take 80% of the final net profit. What do you think?"
80%, huh. So HG Fashion intended to take only 20%...
"Make it 95%. It's a split of net profit, not revenue, after all."
"5% is far too..."
"You'll be selling other things too. The Wildflower brand value will rise as well."
"We need something left over ourselves in order to invest in facilities..."
Jeon Gwang-il tossed out a remark, casual as anything.
"Wildflower & Wyvern."
"...I'm sorry, what?"
What was he talking about?
Wildflower & Wyvern.
"What might the W stand for?"
"Ah!"
"Instead of Wildflower & Wyvern, it could be Ilseong & Wyvern, or Daehyeon & Wyvern..."
Madness!
"A-are you saying Wyvern hide is possible as well?"
"Absolutely. When Wyvern hide comes in later, you can renegotiate the net profit distribution ratio of Wildflower & Bascili."
Go Yeonha answered promptly.
"Yes, we'll take the 5%."
Only a fool would deliberate over this.
Besides, Ilseong & Wyvern, Daehyeon & Wyvern.
It was horrifying just to imagine.
Jeon Gwang-il was satisfied as well.
If the net profit were 1 million won, the Management Bureau—no, Player Bong—would receive 950,000 won for the hide, and HG Fashion 50,000 won.
HG Fashion wouldn't have any major complaints either.
It was a net profit split, wasn't it?
They'd probably develop items and sell them together too.
For example, bundling clothes that matched the Basilisk hide bags.
They would strive to maximize their own profits as well.
And he'd thrown out the Wildflower & Wyvern bait, too.
"Is there anything else I can help with?"
"There is one thing."
"Please, go ahead."
"We tried processing the hide sample you provided through a chemical treatment process. It took some time, but it was more than sufficient as a material for products."
"Good to hear."
"However, cutting and crafting it is extremely difficult. Even at a mere A4 paper size, it won't cut properly with ordinary tools. So we'll need tools made with Tower metal. A lot of it."
Tower metal.
It was as rare as the hide.
Maybe even rarer.
Players occasionally brought it back from Tower reward runs in ingot form, and frankly, there wasn't even enough to make weapons.
"Understood. I'll go to the workshop and inquire. And let's draft the contract after receiving the Director's final approval."
"Yes."
All that remained was to make the products and sell them.
The one regret was that money wouldn't come in immediately.
He needed to get permission.
He'd told Go Yeonha it was the Director's approval, but in truth, it was someone else's.
***Day 4 of clearing only Floor 45.
Two Tower entries a day.
It sounded grueling and time-consuming, but it was nothing of the sort.
First of all, there was no need to worry about an S++ grade clear.
He'd already done it and was just doing repeated runs.
The amount of hide obtainable per run was 6 from the regular enemies plus 1 from the boss, for a total of 7.
Twice a day made 14 in total.
Twice over two days made 28 hides, which Section Chief Lee Min-a would come collect into inventory—that was it. Not a shred of hardship involved.
If there was one difficult part of this process, it was meeting Section Chief Lee Min-a. How much she talked—he nearly died trying to respond.
In any case, after finishing the run and resting at home, he got a call from Jeon Gwang-il.
It was about the hide supply contract.
"Uh, 95% for me? Surely they're not calling me a thief?"
—They accepted quite readily on their end as well.
Was HG Fashion's CEO a pushover or something?
"Well, I have no complaints. If anything, I'm grateful. All I have to do is supply the hide."
Sell leather products and split the profits.
95% of the net profit.
Money earned while lazing around.
—Understood. Then we'll proceed with drafting the contract with HG Fashion. Just in case, I should mention that Player Bong Joo-hyuk's name will not appear. On the surface, it will be a contract between the Management Bureau and HG Fashion.
"That's perfect, actually? And don't forget to take one hide each for the Management Bureau's share every time you collect."
—Thank you very much. Oh! And there's something I need to tell you.... We'd like you to suspend hide collection for the time being.
"What?"
Stop skinning the hides.
Why?
—Allow me to explain. First of all....
Jeon Gwang-il gave two reasons for suspending hide collection.
First.
The hide processing facilities were not yet complete.
So they hadn't been able to handle a single one of the incoming hides.
Second.
Scarcity.
If too much hide piled up, its value would inevitably fall.
It was better to supply slightly under demand.
Joo-hyuk agreed.
Since the hide couldn't be processed or converted to cash right now, collecting more would only lower the goods' value.
When he gathered the summoned beings and relayed the contents of his call with Jeon Gwang-il—
"This girl knew this would happen. Thanks to this, our Rajiks was the only one who suffered for nothing. How frustrated the Young Master's heart must be—this girl can only lament."
Gyeon Dallae glared at Kosak as she said this.
"You say money must pour into the account? This girl earnestly wishes for the same. And yet the money has been tied up. There's no telling when it will be converted to cash."
"Waaah!"
"How will you take responsibility? All that effort wasted. You should have just mined magic stones and sold them instead."
"Waaah?"
"You were so confident during the briefing, yet you don't even understand how production, distribution, and sales actually work."
"Waaahh!"
Kosak's face had turned bright red.
He kept glancing sideways at Joo-hyuk, begging for help.
After all, he was the one who had approved the briefing.
In truth, Kosak hadn't made a huge mistake.
It merely meant the money would arrive late.
If he waited, it would come eventually.
It was simply that Gyeon Dallae, who had been lying in wait for Kosak's blunders at every turn, saw her chance and pounced.
Even so, perhaps cornered by Kosak's anxious eyes staring at him—how could he turn away?
"
Come on, it's already done, so let's stop talking about it. Why don't we run up to the 50th floor while we're at it, and start clearing floor 46 tomorrow?
"
"
S-sounds good. I approve.
"
Kosak responded as if he'd been waiting for it.
"
Don't you worry. I, Kosak, the right hand of Summoner Bong, his loyal confidant, will finish it at S++ grade.
"
"
Great. That's reassuring. We start clearing floor 46 tomorrow. But! The 50th floor clear waits until the random summon cooldown resets.
"
Kosak raised his hand as if something had just come to mind and asked,
"
U-um, sh-shall I give a briefing?
"
"
No. Don't.
"
"
Yes sir!
"
Gyeon Dallae and Go Bang approved as well.
"
As expected of the wise young master. This girl agrees.
"
"
The warrior agrees too. If ordered, the warrior does it. No exceptions.
"
Then,
"
Huh?
"
Rajix shot his hand up as well.
"
Go ahead, worker Rajix.
"
"
Peel the Scorpion exoskeleton shells?
"
Hmm, what to do?
The exoskeletons would need processing anyway.
Still, we could take a few as samples to examine.
"
Just peel off one or two. We don't need many.
"
"
Okey, yes sir.
"
And so the ascent of the uncleared upper floors was decided on the spot.***[You have entered the 46th floor of the Black Tower of South Korea.]Floors 46 through 50 were the Giant Scorpion, or scorpion, section.
Each floor's scorpions had a different attribute.
The environment was all identical.
Bare mountains devoid of a single blade of grass, plains that were all desert, and house-sized boulders scattered here and there.
What kinds of scorpions would appear?
Venom was standard equipment, and the type of venom determined the attribute.
Neurotoxin, hemorrhagic venom, hallucinogenic venom, acid venom, and the King who possessed all of these poisons.
This was the section where healing potions were consumed the most.
How many potions you had secured determined whether the clear succeeded or failed.[Floor 46 Mission: Hunt 15 Paralysis Scorpions.][Time Limit: Within 13 hours.][Failure Condition: Death or mission abandonment.]
The venom was in their tails, and in their pincers too.
They even spat venom-laced saliva from their mouths.
"
You scorpion bastards, they spit spit. If it hits you, you get paralyzed. If you're paralyzed, you can't move your body. So therefore....
"
"
You're sitting this one out?
"
"
As expected, you're brilliant. Summoner Bong is a genius.
"
"
I can't exactly do that, can I? And what about Go Bang and Kosak? They'd get paralyzed all the same.
"
"
Paralysis venom doesn't work on Go Bang. Just look at that ignorantly thick skin of his. And I'm also a venom expert. Even if I get hit, I easily drive it out.
"
Gyeon Dallae nodded too.
Rajix nodded as well... then rolled over.
Rajix, sad because he had no neck.
"...
"
Just you wait and see.
Whether I move or not.
The clear begins.
Takakaka, kkadeudeudeu—
A blue Giant Paralysis Scorpion appeared, pincers and tail raised high.
Go Bang really was unfazed by the venom.
Even drenched head to toe in the saliva the scorpion spat from its mouth, far from being paralyzed, he moved even faster.
Go Bang tore off one of the scorpion's pincers and swung it to bash in its head.
Wham!
And Kosak, sneaky as ever, hid beneath Go Bang to dodge the venom, then landed the finishing blow when the chance came.
Gyeon Dallae's buffs, of course, were still in effect.
But then....
"
Huh?
"
Rajix, the guy's gone again.
At this rate, what if he gets doused in venom—
Right at that moment!
He turned to look.
At some point, pickaxe in hand, Rajix was standing before a huge boulder, busily swinging those short arms of his, breaking away at the rock.
Then he picked up a lump about twice the size of an adult's fist from between the stones and stuffed it into his backpack.
He had a pretty good idea what it was.
"
An ore?
"
The scorpion section.
There was more to gather here than just exoskeleton shells.────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────